County Leaders Talk Jail, Cemetery, Park
In a wide-ranging meeting at the courthouse Thursday, county commissioners talked about everything from inmate phone calls to a forgotten cemetery. Here’s some highlights:
Mt. Olive Reborn Members of the local VFW Post 2527 have uncovered hundreds of old, uncared for graves in a historic Mt. Olive African Methodist-Episcopal Cemetery on Justice Road in Pct. 1 in West Point. Thursday they asked for the county’s assistance in helping them continue to care for those graves (some of which date back to 1862) by putting in a culvert along Justice Road to help them get in and out of the property. The county commissioners voted to do so.
Jail Calls
New Fayette County Jail Administrator Holly Smith asked the commissioners to enter into a new service agreement for inmate phone communication. She said switching phone service from Synergy to Prodigy Solutions would allow the county to generate more revenue when inmates are charged to use the phone or email. Prodigy was offering the county 65% commission on those charges.
Some of the commissioners were surprised at the inmates’ communication options.
“But it does cost them,” Smith said.
Smith said she was very impressed with Prodigy’s technology options, in addition to the financial benefit.
Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie told the court that he agreed.
“We’re going to get more money, and there are crimes that this (new technology) will help us solve,” Noviskie said.
The court voted to switch inmate phone service to Prodigy.
Muldoon Park
There was considerable discussion during the meeting about Muldoon Park, a 1.13 acre lot in Muldoon that is owned by the county but has been taken care of by the Muldoon Fire Department.
The bathroom and kitchen areas of the park need repair.
Muldoon Fire Chief Stephen Kelly said it would be easier for his department to get support for those repairs and apply for grants if the fire department owned the land. Or he would like the county to financially aid in the upkeep/ repairs of the park. Currently the county mows the park and the fire department pays for utilities. Attorney Blake Watson said the county couldn’t just give away the land without going through a bidding process.
Commissioners seemed to all agree that the park was a valuable part of the community, but some changes need to be made for the future viability of the park. No decision was made Thursday and the matter was officially tabled for a future meeting.